The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable plots of land and office units worth Rs 132.85 crore in Mumbai and Raigad districts of Maharashtra. This action is part of the investigation into a Rs 1,438 crore bank fraud case involving Ushdev International Limited (UIL). The attachment was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 by the ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office.
The ED’s probe began following an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Mumbai, based on a complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI) representing an SBI-led consortium of banks. The allegations revolve around a loan fraud amounting to nearly Rs 1,438 crore. It was discovered that the accused obtained funds through fraudulent means by submitting forged trade documents without genuine business transactions.
Further investigation revealed that the funds obtained through Letters of Credit (LCs) were channeled through shell entities and then routed back to Ushdev group companies, creating circular transactions without legitimate reasons. The ED found that a significant portion of the funds obtained through Cash Credit facilities was diverted to related entities, which were either dormant or not involved in genuine business activities.
The fraudulently obtained LC proceeds were used to repay Buyers’ Credit facilities that financed imports later re-exported to overseas entities. However, the export proceeds were not repatriated to India and were diverted to overseas subsidiaries and connected entities, as per the ED’s findings.
